


Take Your Hearts

by skyestar7703



Category: Kingdom Hearts, Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Kingdom Hearts Fusion, Donald and Goofy too of course, Family, Multi, Not at first but they become one, Persona cast as family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-01-31 12:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18591751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyestar7703/pseuds/skyestar7703
Summary: Ren Amamiya lives on Yongen Islands and dreams of exploring other worlds with his friends Ann and Ryuji. However, he gets more than he bargained for when darkness floods into his home and strands him and his friends across different worlds. Now with the power of the Keyblade, and the help of new friends and allies, Ren must find a way to save his home and stop the darkness before it consumes everything he loves for good.





	1. The Room-Keeper

He was falling.

No, falling wasn’t the right word. It was more like he was floating slowly downward, as though he was in water. It was….strangely calming, in a way. Deeper and deeper, surrounded by inky blackness that should have been scary, but really wasn’t. 

Inky black? No, that wasn’t right. It was more like a deep, deep, blue. 

He felt himself land on something. He laid there for a minute, lacking the energy to move. Eventually, his energy returned enough for him to get up. He was on a large floating circle, made of stained-glass, shimmering in all shades of blue. A butterfly design occupied most of the glass. In the center, there was a desk, at which sat old man with an abnormally long nose. To the man’s left was a young girl, also dressed in blue, with white hair and golden eyes. A butterfly headband adorned her head. 

He struggled to his feet, feeling weak and somewhat dizzy. After spending a moment regaining his balance, he made his way over to the two figures.

The man smiled wide. “Welcome, trickster. We have been waiting for you. It seems you have made it. Please, take a seat. There is so much to do, and so little time.” The man motioned to a plush velvet chair that hadn’t been their a moment ago. Confused, he sat and waited for the man to speak again.

“I believe introductions are in order. I am Igor.” The man - Igor - motioned to himself. “This here is Lavenza, my assistant.” The girl smiled politely.

“Pleased to meet you, trickster,” She said. Her voice was high-pitched and melodic. “I hope we will get along well.” He nodded silently at her. 

“Sadly, we didn’t bring you here just for pleasant conversation,” Igor said. “There is a great danger present. Worlds are being destroyed one after another. All previous attempts by our benefactor to stop this threat has failed. You are our new, and only, hope.” Igor nodded at him. “I am sure you are up to the task. What do you think?”

He was being asked? He struggled to find his voice. “I’d rather not have all the worlds be destroyed.” That was how he felt about all this at least. He just didn’t know enough about what was being said to give an opinion on any of the other things Igor mentioned. Was that what Igor wanted to hear?

Igor chuckled. “That is fair! And we will help you achieve that goal. The man sobered up and looked at him seriously. He felt as though Igor’s eyes were staring right into his soul. “Please know this, trickster. As I mentioned before, you aren’t the first to be summoned to deal with this threat. However, due to either ignorance or cowardice, neither of the others have succeeded. I have faith in you, but our benefactor is keeping a much closer eye on you than he otherwise would. Do you understand?”

Not really. It would help if Igor told him who this “benefactor” was. But that probably wasn’t the right answer, and saying no most likely wouldn’t get him anywhere. So he nodded.

Igor clasped his hands together. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you are taking this so well. With a bit of effort, you could become a true trickster, able to destroy all inevitability and fate. However, we do have a few more things to get through.” He flicked his wrist, and a clipboard appeared. “If you sign this contract, you are agreeing to take responsibility for all your actions. Do you agree to these terms?”

He hesitated, then nodded. That sounded reasonable. Lavenza held out a pen, which he took, and signed the contract. Igor flicked his wrist again and it vanished into a ball of light, before fading away.

“Excellent! Next task on the agenda. Lavenza, if you would.” Lavenza stepped forward. She held out her hands in front of her, and three items appeared: a sword, a wand, and a shield.

“These are three of your strengths,” She explained. “You must choose one that you wish to excel in, and in return, one that you will be weaker in.”

She motioned to the sword. “The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.” Then to the wand. “The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.” Finally, the shield. “The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. What is your choice?”

He frowned in thought. None of those things sounded like something he’d want to give up.

Lavenza smiled at him. “What does your heart tell you is best?”

What did his heart tell him? He looked at the items again. “I’d….like to excel in the power of the mystic,” He said slowly. “And I think I’ll be weaker in the power of the guardian.” Lavenza nodded, and the items disappeared. 

“Wonderful! Now if you would, I’d like to know more about yourself,” Igor said. “Just answer my questions as honestly as you can. First off, What would you consider a fear of yours?”

He thought. “Being indecisive, I guess.”

“Interesting.” Igor hummed. “There are many times where swift action is necessary, and hesitation will only hurt. However there are also times where you must hang back and consider your options if you are to make the correct decision. Remember that.” He nodded once again. “Now, what do you want out of your life?”

“I’d like to broaden my horizons.” He thought of his friends, and their plans to explore past their islands. 

“Very Interesting. Final question. What is most important to you?”

The most important thing to him? That one was easy. “Friendship,” he answered confidently. Once again he thought of his friends. They meant so much to him, and he wouldn’t give them up for anything in the world.

Igor smiled at him. “That is a _very_ good answer. I look forward to seeing your journey progress, trickster.”

“We will see you soon,” Lavenza said. “And do not forget: your heart is the mightiest weapon of all.”

The chair disappeared from underneath him and he fell to the floor. He looked up the see the desk and its occupants were gone as well. The floor cracked beneath him, and he was falling, falling falling….

“...n. ….en. ….Ren! Ren, can you hear me? Wake up, man!”

His eyes blinked open and he winced and covered them, shrinking away from the bright, almost cloudless sky. Luckily for him, a friend-shaped shadow leaned over, giving him time to adjust. “....Ryuji.”

“Dude, you’re up!” Ryuji jumped up and pulled him to his feet. “You’re lucky it was me who saw you snoozing and not Ann. She’d be pissed. We’re supposed to be building the raft, remember?”

The raft? Right, the raft. He, Ann, and Ryuji were building a raft to go outside their islands. 

He put his hand over his face. What was that weird dream? With those strange people, talking about “benefactors” and “tricksters”. It certainly had a dream-like quality to it, but for some reason, it didn’t feel like a normal dream.

“Hey, are you alright?” Ryuji asked, uncertainty clouding his voice. “What is it?”

He blinked once. Twice. Huh. He did feel somewhat strange, but that must have just been sleep wearing off. Ren gave his friend a smile. “Yeah, I’m alright. Sorry for worrying you. Let’s just go find Ann before she finds us.” Ryuji’s answering grin made him feel light inside, in a way he couldn’t quite explain. 

“Sounds good to me! Let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this idea for a while now, and only recently got around to writing it out. I hope you enjoy!


	2. Welcome to Yongen Islands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren, Ann, and Ryuji explore the islands and get ready to leave with the help of their friends, unaware of the darkness coming their way.

If there was one good thing about having to live in the same small place her entire life, Ann thought, it would be that at least the islands were warm. She’d heard stories of other worlds with things like snow and ice, and had known immediately that she never wanted to live in a place like that. 

Not that she she didn’t want to explore as much as Ryuji and Ren, but there had to be other warm worlds out there! And really, she would brave the chill if it meant going somewhere interesting. But, y’know, briefly.

The point was she was glad it was warm, because if she had to wait for Ryuji and Ren in the cold then she would be even more pissed than she already was. 

“Hey, they’ll be here soon! Ren probably got distracted by something interesting, you know how he is.” Shiho nudged her shoulder with a smile. Ann had known Shiho longer than anyone else on the islands. They had met as babies and had apparently clicked even then. She’d been super upset when Shiho had said that she didn’t want to go with them on the raft. Still, she understood. Unlike her, Shiho had never really felt the need to leave their home. So when they came back, Ann would have lots of souvenirs and stories to tell her!

“I guess you’re right,” She told her friend. “Although that description fits Yusuke more than Ren.”

Shiho grinned. “Of course, I’m always right! And Yusuke isn’t the only one easily distracted, he’s just the weirdest about it.” Yusuke was an aspiring painter, who all the other kids knew as….eccentric. Which he was in spades. 

They stopped their chatter as the boys approached. “Sorry ‘bout that,” Ryuji laughed awkwardly. “Ren fell asleep on the beach, and I had to go wake him up. We came as fast as we could.”

“Seriously?” Ann looked at Ren, who had the decency to look at least somewhat ashamed. “You know we’re planning on setting sail _tomorrow_ , right? This isn’t the time for dozing off! We still need to prepare a lot of things!”

“Sorry,” he said. “An old man stole me away in my dreams to discuss my destiny.” Shiho and Ryuji laughed.

Ren had always been an oddball. He didn’t talk much, and usually had a deadpan expression. Some of the things he said could probably be considered a joke, but it was always hard to tell. For everyone but Ryuji at least, who seemed to read him like an open book. No wonder the two had always gotten along. Judging by the blond boy’s snickers, that just now was probably a joke.

“Well then.” She jumped to her feet. “Let’s get building! Double time, people! Ryuji, you’ll get the wood and building materials ‘cause you’re the heavy lifter. Ren, you’re on food duty. Also, please get some of Boss’ curry for the trip. We need that stuff. Shiho and I will go get cloth and rope.”

“Sounds like a plan! I’ll get started!” With that Ryuji dashed off down the sand. Ren, Shiho, and Ann shared a smile, before the dark haired boy jogged after their friend. 

Ann turned to Shiho. “Thanks for helping, Shiho. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem! I’m always here to help.” Shiho paused, face falling for a moment. Before Ann could ask what was wrong, Shiho grabbed her hands and held them tightly out in front of her. 

“Promise you’ll come back, okay?” She said. Ann’s eyes widened at her friend’s unusually intense face. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I know you need this, so I think you should do it, but please, _please_ be safe!” 

Ann felt like her heart was breaking. She knew it would hurt Shiho, her leaving, but not this much. A part of her wanted to back out of going away, tell her friend not to worry, that she would stay and be safe.

But she knew if she never tried, she would never be satisfied. She would smile for Shiho, and could probably find some happiness, but a part of her would always wonder what could have been, and she’d never truly be satisfied. If she wanted to be a good friend to Shiho, she had to do this.

Ann gripped Shiho in a tight hug, which was quickly returned. “Of course I’ll come back. Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. And I’ve got Ren and Ryuji backing me up! We’ll all take care of each other. I’ll stay safe, and see you again real soon. I promise.”

Shiho stepped back and wiped a few tears from her eyes. “I really don’t want you to go,” She admitted. “But I know you. This’ll be good for you.” She grabbed Ann’s hand and lead the way towards the clubhouse. Ann shoved down the painful nagging feeling in her chest. She had to do this. She _did_. 

*

“So you three are really going to do it? Go on a raft and sail away, I mean.” Haru handed Shiho the cloth they asked for, as well as some vegetables. “That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you!” 

“Thanks Haru.” Ann smiled. Haru was fifteen, a year older than her and her friends. She was beautiful, with short curly red hair, wearing a light pink sweater with a flowy pink skirt and dark leggings. She had washed ashore one day with no specific memories of her life before, except that she had come from another world. The mayor of Yongen, Toranosuke Yoshida, had taken her in, and she had quickly become the island’s resident sweetheart, charming everyone over with her sweet personality. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? Maybe we’ll find the world you came from!”

Haru shook her head. “Thank you, but that’s alright. I’m very happy here. And I wouldn’t want to hurt my dad by leaving.” Ann refused to let her eyes stray to Shiho and shoved down the irritation. It wasn’t as though Haru was trying to make her feel bad, but it felt like everyone was telling her she was making the wrong decision. She wasn’t!

“Be safe out there, okay?” Makoto had walked over, carrying a few ropes. “Make sure to tell Ryuji that he’d better not do anything reckless, or he’s in big trouble when you all come home.” 

“Will do,” Ann said as she took the ropes. Makoto was kinda stuffy, but she had a good heart. Her sister was a total party pooper, so her attitude did made sense. Even so, she did show her rebellious side on occasion. She had been the one to lend Ann her first leather jacket, after all. Ann held one of the ropes like a whip and flicked it, hearing a satisfying crack. “I’ll keep him in line, don’t worry.”

Makoto chuckled. “I’m sure you will.”

Haru gave a small wave. “Good luck!”

*

“ _Oh yeah Ryuji, you’re the heavy lifter! You go get some logs! Meanwhile Shiho and I get the easy stuff and Ren gets the fun stuff!_ ” Ryuji picked his way across the beach, muttering under his breath. He struggled underneath the weight of his job. Damn logs. Damn girls. 

“Hey, do you need any help?” He turned to the sound of the noise to find Yuki Mishima jogging along the beach to catch up with him. “I can carry some of those, it you want!”

Ryuji nodded in relief. “Thanks man.” After a bit of a struggle, the two continued along the sand, logs in hand. When they got to the designated dumping ground, Ryuji threw his logs into a pile and flopped to the ground in relief. Yuki was right behind him, panting hard. The two laid down on the sand and watched small white clouds go by above them. 

“I wish I could come with you guys,” Yuki said quietly. 

Ryuji frowned. “No one’s stopping you. We’d be happy to have you aboard.” Yuki shook his head.

“ _I’m_ stopping me.” He didn’t take his eyes off the sky. “I’m not like you. I’m not cut out for that kind of stuff. Adventuring, I mean. It sounds super awesome when it’s just talk, sure, but the thought of actually leaving Yongen and going into the unknown terrifies me.”

“That’s fair, I guess.” Ryuji shrugged. “Still though, you never know until you’re actually out there. Maybe I end up being really scared and you’d do great!” Not that he’d really be scared or anything, but his point still stood, and Yuki didn’t need to hear that.

Yuki gave him a weak smile. “Maybe next time.” 

*

“-So I’d really appreciate it if you could give us some food,” Ren finished awkwardly. Sojiro was a standoffish person, and didn’t seem to like him very much. They all knew he had a daughter named Futaba who was a bit younger than Ren, although he personally hadn’t met her. But Sojiro Sakura, a.k.a boss, seemed to have him pegged as a troublemaker from day one. Honestly, the incident that had happened right before they had met had been an accident! No one seemed to believe him when he said the world was out to get him, but it was definitely true. 

Sojiro narrowed his eyes. ‘You do know you’re not going to get anywhere, right? Not on some dingy handmade raft. If there are other worlds out there, it would most likely take specialized equipment to get to those places. What do you really want?”

Ren frowned slightly. “We want to try.” Hearing Sojiro say that hurt, but he didn’t want to give up. And it wasn’t like Sojiro himself had ever tried, so how would he know?

The two engaged in a sort of stand-off, before the older man relented. “Fine, knock yourself out kid. Don’t come crying to me when you come back soaking wet in a few hours.”

“Right.” Ren watched Sojiro prepare the curry in silence. His mind drifted back to his earlier dream. It was so strange. He never would have thought his subconscious could come up with something like that. Even thinking about it now made him feel odd, like he was dreaming at the moment. Maybe this was a dream, and that circle was reality? No, that didn’t make sense. What was he thinking?

“Kid? You okay?” He blinked. Sojiro was staring at him with something bordering concern. When Sojiro looked concerned for him, he knew he was in trouble. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Ren nodded. “Geez. You come all this way to ask something from me then don’t even answer my questions. Whatever.” Ren took the curry and left, glad to be out of there. 

*  
Sunsets on Yongen were always pretty, Ren thought. The pinks, yellows, oranges, and purples stained the entire sky and sea, surrounding everyone in color. He shifted his weight on the palm tree, grabbing onto Ann for support, who sat between him and Ryuji. Everyone else had gone back to the main island for the day, including Shiho. Not that Ren really minded. Sure, he liked all the other kids, but Ann and Ryuji meant more to him than anything else in the world. 

Maybe that was why he was so excited to go with them. To travel the worlds with his best friends. 

Ryuji was the first to break the silence, as usual. So, everyone ready for tomorrow? We just gotta assemble everything, then we’re all set to go! Man, this is gonna be awesome!”

“Oh yeah?” Ann teased. “Once we reach another world, what are you planning on doing exactly?”

“Oh, um….” He rubbed his neck and looked away. “I dunno. I guess I’ll find out when I get there. A-and what about you? What to you want to do?”

Ann brightened. “I’m going to learn everything I can, and get some awesome souvenirs to bring back Shiho so I can tell her everything about our adventures! And she’ll have a little piece of our travels, like she was there with us.”

“You’re pretty love struck,” Ren said. Ann flushed and looked away. 

“H-hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re leaving on what could be an amazing journey and all you think about is Shiho,” he pointed out. Honestly, he was surprised no one else had told her this yet. “It’s also pretty obvious from the way you look at her and talk about her all the time.”

Ryuji punched his shoulder. “Dude, she’s red as a tomato now. Lay off, she’ll come clean when she’s ready.” Ren shrugged. He didn’t see why they hadn’t told each other their feelings yet. The feelings were clearly mutual. “So anyways, Renren, what’s your big plans for when we get to another world?”

“Don’t call me that. But….I’m not sure. I guess I find out when I get there.” Ren hesitated, and fiddled with his hair. “Do you really think a raft will get us to where we want to go?” As much as he hated to admit it, Sojiro’s words had struck a chord in him. 

“Of course!” Ann said confidently. “We have to try anyways!”

“Right.” And if Ann and Ryuji were going, Ren was going. That was how it was, no matter what. 

Sometimes he felt like an extra in other people’s stories. Maybe the main focus was Ann and Shiho’s romance, or Ryuji’s comically bad decision making skills, or Yusuke’s budding painting career, or Haru’s mysterious past, or even Goro’s part time detective job. He was just the background support character. And he was fine with that, really, as long as he got to be with his amazing friends.

 _Your dream says differently. You are far more than a supporting character._ A voice whispered in his head. He pushed it away. Dreams didn’t make someone interesting in real life.

He wondered if he’d really miss this place while they were gone. Sure, some of the other teens were nice, and he liked to spar with Makoto (wooden dagger verses boxing gloves), play games with Shinya, and work part time at Lala’s bar. But at the same time, he yearned to get away. From his aunt who blamed him for all her misfortune, from the whispers that followed him at school, from this small island where everyone knew each other and nothing ever changed. 

The three got up to leave. As they were walking along the wooden bridge, Ryuji suddenly turned and ran back.

“Hey, where are you going?” Ann called out.

“Be back in a minute!” He sprinted away. She looked questioningly to Ren, who shrugged. After a moment, she laughed.

“Always marches to the beat of his own drum, doesn’t he?” She smiled at him. “Reminds me of someone else.” Was she talking about him? She was looking at him, so, probably. It wasn’t like he meant to be weird or anything. Ren just was who he was. 

But when it came to Ryuji…. “That’s part of why he’s so special,” He said quietly. Ann laughed again.

“Yeah yeah. You said I’m “obvious” or whatever, but you’re the one who’s obvious, you know.” He looked at her with genuine confusion, which only made her laugh harder. Footsteps on wood signaled the blond haired boy’s return. 

“I got it!” He called out, waving a star-shaped fruit in front of him. “The paopu fruit! They say whoever eats it together is bound together forever or something.”

Ann nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard that. So what?”

“Sooo, I was thinking the three of us could share! Y’know, to make our trip official and everything.” He looked at them expectantly. Honestly, Ren wouldn’t mind having his fate intertwined with his friends, but he looked to Ann, who seemed nervous.

“I don’t know, Ryu. I mean, isn’t that supposed to be with the people you really really care about? Not three fourteen year olds going on a trip together?” She asked tentatively.

Ryuji smirked. “Oh, I get it. You want to save your paopu fruit for Shiho, right?” Ann flushed red once again and stuttered protests. Ryuji laughed and chucked the fruit aside, walking past her. Heart full of warmth and hope, Ren followed them.

*

“Our raft still needs a name, you know,” Ann pointed out. They were busy adding the finishing touches, piecing it together with rope and the hammer and nails Ann brought from her house. “How about something cool, like….the Diamond!”

“What? No way!” Ryuji protested. “That sounds super lame. We need an awesome name. Like….the Phantom!”

Ann scoffed. “That just sounds weird, and not cool at all.” Ryuji crossed his arms with a huff.  
“It’s way better than the Diamond, anyways! So I say we go with my idea.”

“No way!”

“Race for it,” Ren suggested. “The usual course. Whoever wins gets to name it. If it’s a tie, I get to pick the name.” 

“Sounds good to me!” Ryuji noticed Goro sitting with a book a little ways away. “Hey Goro! Be our ref!”

He looked up, mildly annoyed. “What now?”

“We’re racing for the right to name our raft!” Ann told him. “We need an impartial referee to help us determine who the victor is.”

“And you keep to yourself, so we don’t even know you that well,” Ryuji finished. Ren winced, and saw Goro’s eye twitch. “So you’re perfect.” Ryu was a very empathetic person, but it was often cancelled out by his tendency to put his foot in his mouth. 

“You know what? I’ll do it. It is a very good book I’m reading, but I’m sure I can put it aside for something as important as this.” Goro stood up and walked over. Ren frowned, because _sarcasm much?_ But the other two didn’t seem to mind as they ran to the starting point and took their positions.

“Usual rules apply,” Goro said. “Take any route you want, first one to tag the tree with the star on it and get back wins. Alright, on your mark, get set, go!” The two took off. Ren and Goro watched them go.

Goro turned to him. “Did they even think of what they would do if they tied? They don’t seem the type, no offence.” Ren wanted to point out that that last bit was unnecessary, but held his tongue. Really, the whole jab was unnecessary, but he didn’t know Goro that well; as Ryuji had said, the boy had always kept to himself. Maybe he didn’t mean it as rudely as it had sounded? Ren knew he himself could come across as rude without meaning to, so he could give Goro the benefit of the doubt.

“If they tie the choice goes to me. I suggested the whole thing.” If Goro did want to insult them, he should know it was Ren who had this idea in the first place, not his friends.

Unexpectedly, Goro smiled at him. “Of course, you’d have the common sense to do that. I always wondered how you and Ryuji got along so well when you’re so different.” Ren started at him; what was that supposed to mean? Who was he insulting, him or Ryuji? Honestly, he hoped it was him, Ryuji didn’t deserve the insults of someone who didn’t know him.

But the two were coming back, so he and Goro focused on the race. It was really close. The two raced over the final stretch, Climbing up a small sand mound, and Ren was confident that he saw Ryuji finish first. Phantom it was then.

“It’s a tie!” Goro smiled at him. “So it looks like you’re naming your raft. Congrats.”

“Aww man!” Ryuji pouted. “I was sure I had that one in the bag! You’ve gotten better Ann!” 

Ann beamed. “Thanks! I’ve been training with Shiho, you know how much she loves sports. Makoto gives us lessons on self defense sometimes too.”

Ren had been sure he saw Ryuji win, but the whole point of getting Goro to judge was to have someone impartial. Maybe he had just seen it wrong? _Benefit of the doubt._ He thought about what he name he would chose. 

“How does Highwind sound?” He asked the others.

Ryuji grinned. “Sounds good to me!” Ann nodded.

“I still like Diamond, but that sounds good as well!” 

Goro went to go retrieve his book. “Glad I could help you three. Have fun with your little raft thing.” That….felt really condescending. They watched him go. 

Ryuji scowled after him. “I don’t like that guy. He definitely rubs me the wrong way. There’s something off about him.”

“We don’t really know him,” Ann protested. “That could have just been a bad first impression or something. Maybe he’s going through something bad so he’s acting weird. We don’t know.”

Ren said nothing. Ryuji was right, something about Goro Akechi was off. But he didn’t want to say it outright in case he was wrong. Not that it really mattered, they’d bee setting sail latter anyways. 

*

Ren kneeled down in the cave, picking mushrooms. While he had gotten food the day before, Makoto had stopped by and pointed out that it wasn’t nearly enough for a long journey. So now they were scrambling to find more food and fresh drinking water wherever they could. 

The cave itself was decorated in chalk drawings and engravings from the various kids of Yongen. Ren could see his, Ann's, and Ryuji’s work, as well as some that were definitely Shiho’s. There were intricate drawings that had to be Yusuke’s; The flowers were probably Haru. and there were some illustrations of storybook characters that might have been Yuki’s, but they didn’t look like his style of drawing. All and and all, it was a mess of art and childhood.

There was a door, too. One wooden door that never opened, and didn’t seem to go to anyplace.

He was looking at the door when he felt it, a strange presence. He spun around. “Who’s there?”

“I’ve come to see this place. One last time.” 

Ren’s eyes landed on a hooded figure, shrouded in black. “What do you mean by that?” He asked cautiously.

The figure shook its head. “This world is connected to that darkness. Fated to be eclipsed into nothingness. To Fall. I came to see it, before that happens.” 

Ren felt a cold shiver down his spine, extending through his body, rooting him to the spot. Darkness? Fall? What did it mean? Nothing good, he could assume. He closed his eyes and breathed in slowly. One step at a time. _Find out what this person knows first._ He opened his eyes, ready to ask more questions, but the figure was gone.

Well, if that wasn’t ominous. 

*

“Aww man!” Ryuji sighed. “We got so worked up finding more food that we didn’t finish the raft today! Bummer.”

“We’ll go tomorrow then,” Ann promised. “No more delays.”

“Tomorrow,” Ren agreed. The three watched the sunset together once again. It was nice, being with the two of them. Comfortable where being around other people just wasn’t. 

After another moment of comfortable silence, Ann spoke up. “I know I said no to this yesterday but….” She brought out a hand from where she was hiding it. In her hand laid a paopu fruit.

Ren frowned. “You sure?”

“Yes,” Ann said firmly. “There’s no one else I’d rather travel with.” 

“Alright then!” Ryuji took the fruit and broke it into thirds. The three bit in. It was as delicious as he’d hoped it would be.

Tomorrow, they’d set sail on a new adventure, a special adventure. Ren couldn’t wait. 

*

Of course, they weren’t the last ones to leave the island that night. Someone else lay waiting, deep inside a cave with a door, ready to unleash darkness upon the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so many of the Persona (5) characters are set up. Not all of them, mind you. Most, if not all of the confidants will appear at some point. But a bunch are here now. Also a note, everyone seems to use first names in Kingdom Hearts, so characters like Akechi and Mishima are known as Goro and Yuki. 
> 
> Next chapter we really get into the magic/keyblade shenanigans. Until then!


	3. Yongen Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heartless are unleashed upon the world, and Ren and his friends struggle to survive. Luckily, they've got some friends in high places and magical inner powers to help them out.

Ren starred at his ceiling, unable to fall asleep. All he could think about was the coming day, and the travels that lay ahead of him and his friends. Oh, and the paopu fruit. That too. If the legend was right, they were bound together by fate now. The thought brought a smile to Ren’s face. 

_With a bit of effort, you could become a true trickster, able to destroy all inevitability and fate._

Damn, he really needed to stop thinking about that dream.

The sound of thunder jolted him out of his thoughts. He sat up and looked out his window to see lightning flash across the sky. It looked to be centered around the clubhouse island.

 _The raft. We left it out there._

He jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes, skidding down the stairs before bursting out the door. He wasn’t worried about what his aunt would say; she couldn’t care less about what could happen to him. But their raft was in trouble, and that was way worse than anything his aunt could or would do. He reached the docks and jumped into a boat, paddling as fast as he could to the other island.

He reached the docks and immediately noticed the two blonds waiting for him. “Come on man!” Ryuji held out his hand and pulled Ren up. “We gotta save the raft!”

“No time to waste,” Ann agreed. “Let’s go- what’s that!?” She pointed upwards. There in the sky was a giant black orb. The surface of it flashed with lightning, while red clouds swirled inside. Ren felt an odd pull in his gut as he looked at it. Almost like it was calling to him….

“L-Let’s go! Let’s go right now!” Ryuji dragged them away. Ren shook himself out of his trance, noting the other boats lining the dock. Apparently they weren’t the only ones with this idea. 

The beach before them stained black in small circles, and out rose tiny shadowy creatures, with grabby hands, antennae, and glowing yellow eyes. Ann shrieked. “What are those things?” She scooped up a rope from her boat and whipped it at a creature. The makeshift weapon passed right through it. “We can’t hit them!”

“We have to run,” Ren said. “Now.” The three jumped off the dock, sprinting around where the creatures were forming. Another one rose up in front of Ren, who instinctively ducked and rolled away from it, jumping back up and continuing forward. 

“The circle!” Ryuji yelled. “Other people are there!” They ran for the circle of palm trees, where they had all spent many a time sparing with each other. Seven teens were gathered in the middle. Ren spotted Shiho, Yuki, Makoto, Haru, Goro, and Yusuke, and a red haired girl he had never seen before.

Shiho noticed their approach and ran to them. “You guys are here too! We all saw the storm and the weird darkness. What is this thing?”

“It’s beautiful, in a way,” Yusuke commented. “The break in the dark sky by an even darker intrusion, the red that withers within. If only I had my sketchbook! I must find a way to paint this!”

“That’s what you’re thinking about now? Weirdo!” The mysterious girl shot at him. “This is super serious!”

“I agree,” Makoto said. She was clearly trying to remain calm, although Ren could hear the tremor in her voice. “Whatever this thing is, it isn’t good. We need to- Haru? Are you alright?”

Haru was gazing up at the darkness, eyes not straying from it. The look on her face was one of pure terror.

“I - I’ve seen this before,” She stammered. “I’ve seen this before, this isn’t good, this isn’t good oh no oh no oh nononono.” The rest of them glanced at each other with fear and uncertainty. None of them had ever seen Haru act like this before.

“Haru?” Ann asked hesitantly. “Does - does this remind you of when you came to this world?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised! This is great!” Ren whipped around to face the most recent speaker. Goro was looking up at the darkness, arms out wide, ecstasy plain on his face. “It’s finally time! We will be free of these small, cursed islands, out into the worlds!” Goro laughed. It sounded completely unhinged. Ren took an unconscious step back.

“H - hey, what’s wrong with you man?” Ryuji asked the boy detective. “What’s going on?”

Goro flashed him a twisted grin. “Not that I’d expect you to understand, of course. Building a raft, ha! Although I suppose since you had no way of knowing what to do to leave, you chose the simplest option.” He turned to Ren, who forced himself not to flinch at the other’s distorted face, meeting his eyes head on. “I bet you knew better though, didn’t you, Ren? You’re like me, after all! Come, let’s leave everyone behind and discover the universe together!”

 

“What are you even talking about?” Ann snapped at him. “Ren’s not going anywhere with you!”

“Goro, why?” Yuki asked helplessly. “What do you mean, be free of these islands?”

“Did you do this? How could you!” Makoto’s face was etched with a surprising amount of fury, as she held Haru, who was shaking on the ground.

Goro chuckled. “You can thank me later, once we’re all away! I won’t let anything stop me now! I’m not afraid of the darkness!” He held his hands above his head. As he did so, the ground they were all standing on was suddenly covered in black fog. It wrapped itself around Goro, then started spreading to the others. Makoto found herself ripped away from Haru with a scream. Yusuke and Yuki tried in vain to cut the mist away. The girl Ren didn’t know fell to her knees with a sob, calling out for her mother.

“Ann!” Ren spun to see Shiho being dragged away. Ann cried out and reached for her friend.

“No! Shiho hang on!” The two blonds and Ren were furthest away from Goro, and the fog was up to their knees now. Ann, the furthest in of them, was up to her waist. Ren and Ryuji grabbed her arms as Shiho faded from view. “SHIHO!” 

Ren clutched his friends tightly, shivering as the darkness crawled over him. It was like a starless night, or the shadows small children sometimes believed nightmares came out of. He tried to call out-

*

Everything was black.

No, that was wrong. It was more like a very deep blue.

**This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none. But trickster, if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.**

That voice. He knew that voice.

_Lavenza?_

**Listen to your heart, trickster. It is the mightiest weapon of all, and it can grant you the power to break through this crisis.**

He took a deep breath. Something was tugging at him from inside. It felt dark, but not in the way that the darkness from the beach had. It was a comforting dark, like a cloudless nighttime during a full moon, or shade to provide relief from the sun. 

It felt like home. It felt like him.

**I am thou. Thou art I. I am Arsene, the pilligar of twilight, the manifestation of your rebellious heart. Call upon my name, release thy rage!**

Ren screamed, power coursing through his body like a tidal wave. It was overwhelming him with its strength. He fought back, pushing until most of it gathered around his hand. 

“Come to me!” 

Everything was blue.

*

He was on the beach again, in the circle of trees. Everyone besides him, Ryuji, and Ann were gone. There was a weight in his right hand. He turned it over in his palm a few times. It felt right, like it was always meant to be there. Keyblade. Arsene. 

“NO! SHIHO!” Ann yelled, sinking to her knees. “Where did she go? Where did everyone go!?” 

Ryuji’s hands trembled, and he balled them into fists. “I - I don’t know! I don’t know anything about what just happened, except that that bastard Goro started it. What do you think Ren?” Ryuji looked at him and paled. “Ren! What happened to you? Your eyes! And what are you holding?”

His eyes? What did Ryuji mean? And it was his keyblade in his hand, obviously. He looked down at it. The handle was bright red, with black wings curving around the sides of it. The shaft of the blade was black with a red outline, formed in a zigzag instead of a straight line. The end curved like the end of a scythe, red, black, and silver. There was a key chain at the end, with a black and white mask on it.

There was sound from behind him. Heartless. He dashed forward to meet the creatures. One tried to jump on top of him, so he slid underneath and swung upwards. The creature let out a small shriek and faded away. He spun around and slammed his keyblade into the next heartless. This one seemed a bit sturdier than the last, so he swung his blade like a golf club and knocked it into nothingness. 

A third rushed him. He instinctively raised his keyblade, feeling power rush through him. Ehiya. Darkness, a different kind than that of which he was fighting, rushed towards the heartless and disintegrated it. Another. He waited until it was close, then lunged forward, impaling it through the center. He looked around to find none left. Good. 

He looked up. Ryuji and Ann were still staring at him, worry and a hint of fear in their eyes. “Renren?” Ryuji asked, uncertainty clouding his voice. Just like before. _Before._

Ren shook his head. What was he thinking? What was going on? What was happening to him?

“I - It’s okay dude. We’ll figure it out, don’t worry,” Ryuji said. Ren internally winced, he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me,” Ann said shakily. “But not before we find Shiho!” Ren nodded in agreement, and the three set off back down the beach. 

“That door!” Ryuji pointed towards the cave where all of their artwork was. Instead of just a regular opening, there was an intricate silver door at the entrance. “That definitely wasn’t there before.”

“We need to go there,” Ren said with certainty. Ann frowned at him.

“W-what? No, we need to find Shiho and the others-” 

“No. We need to go through it.” Ren couldn’t explain it, the _need_ to go through the door. He just knew he had to. He had to. It was the only way. He ran towards the door and opened it. He could hear Ann and Ryuji’s footsteps and protests behind him, but he had to keep going, he did- 

They were in the cave. Wait, why were they in the cave? They needed to find Shiho and the others! What was wrong with him? Ren turned to his friends, unable to hide the fear in his face. “I - I’m sorry, I don’t know why this is happening, I didn’t want to-”

“Ren, Look out!” He felt them tackle him down just as the dark mist seeped out of the wooden door, surrounding them once again. 

*

Ryuji groaned and opened his eyes. He took a look around him and jumped up in shock. Darkness swirled around them, below and above the small remains of the clubhouse island. Every structure that was still there was in shambles, and he couldn’t see beyond the mist. 

“Ren!” He pulled his friend to his feet. Ren groaned and opened his eyes, thankfully not golden anymore. That had been terrifying, emerging from the darkness to see Ren with golden eyes and a strange weapon, destroying those shadow creatures and looking at Ryuji like a total stranger. Just like five years ago….Something was definitely wrong. Still, they couldn’t focus on that now, not when all their lives were in danger.

_Escape first, help Ren after._

Ann scrambled to her feet. “What happened now?” She looked around. “Oh god, what did happen? Why is this happening to us?” Her voice shook, reaching the point of panic.

Ryuji opened his mouth to respond, when a….thing emerged from the darkness. It was taller than any building he’d ever seen, with glowing yellow eyes. The thing focused on them, and they all ran just in time to avoid getting crushed by its fist. 

Ren recovered first, turning around and driving his weapon into its hand multiple times. The creature screamed and withdrew its arm, swinging around to swipe at him. Ren rolled under it and called back that weird magic from earlier on it. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do anything more than annoy the creature. The next swipe of its hand, and Ren was sent flying across the sand, crashing into a pile of debris. 

“No!” Ryuji ran to his side. Ren clutched his side, hissing in pain. “Hang on Ren!” The creature turned toward them once again. Ryuji froze up as the thing raised its foot over them, ready to smush them like bugs. 

“Ryu-” Ren groaned. “You have to fight. You - you can do it-”

He had to fight? No, that was wrong, he couldn’t there was nothing he could do! The creature lowered its foot, draping them in its shadow. They were going to die-

No. No! Ren was right, he had to fight! He wouldn’t die here, he wouldn’t let Ren or Ann die here!

**Good. Then you can finally unlock your potential!**

Everything around him froze. Ryuji convulsed as something akin to a powerful electric current shocked his entire body, withering in pain.

**You have steadied your heart, so I will head your resolve. Are you ready to hoist the flag and show your true colors?**

_Yes._

Everything unfroze, except this time, there was something in his hand. A keyblade. His keyblade. Without any more hesitation, he swung his blade upward, knocking the foot aside just long enough to grab Ren and run. 

Ann ran to them. “You’re okay! And, Ryuji! You have a weapon now too! And your eyes, they were golden for a moment!”

“Seriously?” He glanced at the keyblade in his hand. The handle was shaped like a monkey skull, with eye sockets for the handles. The staff part was like a spine, with lightning racing up and down it. The teeth were shaped like a deformed cannon. The keychain on the handle ended with a small skull mask. He knew its name, Captain Kidd. “Yeah, I guess this is mine now.”

Ren let go of Ryuji and braced himself, holding out his keyblade. “The heartless is coming back,” He warned. Sure enough, the thing was limping towards them, looking angrier than ever. Ryuji readied his keyblade.

“Let’s take this thing down!” The two rushed the heartless, Ren jumping up and swiping at its head while Ryuji lunged for its feet, knocking it with powerful blows. The creature moved its leg right into him and Ryuji braced himself as he started to go flying-

*

Ann watched helplessly as the toy boys ripped into the heartless thing. First Ren had gotten a weapon, and now Ryuji, and all she could do was stand around and watch as her home was destroyed and everyone else went missing. 

She saw the heartless slam into Ryuji. No, No! I can’t just watch anymore! There has to be something I can do to help!

**You are not one to sit idly on the sidelines, it seems. You wish for the power to help your friends and save the one you love? To save dear Shiho?**

Of course she did!

**In that case, as the will of your rebellion, I’ll gladly lend you my strength!**

Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out. But that voice, she knew what it was saying was true. _I hear you, Carmen._

Something glowed in her hand and took shape. A keyblade. It was pink, the handle shaped like a heart, red thorns racing up the the pink shaft, flames for the teeth, and a cat mask at the end of her keychain. Carmen, her keyblade. 

She knew what to do. Agi! Fire sprung all around the body of the heartless, making it scream in pain. Ren took the moment to rush over to Ryuji’s side, breaking his fall. She ran over to them and lifted her keyblade. “I’ll fight too! We can take this thing down!”

Ryuji grinned at her. “Yeah! The three of us can do this!”

Ren gave a small smile. “Alright then. I’ll take the legs. Ryuji, go for the arms. Ann, since your fire seems to work on it really well, use that as much as you can. Stay out of its range and keep firing.”

“Got it!” They jumped into action. Ryuji stabbed his keyblade into the thing’s arms over and over again. At one point, Ann was sure she saw lightning coming from him. Ren swiped at its legs, nimbly dodging around its stomps. Ann fired Agi after Agi spell until she was exhausted. Under the combined weight of the three keyblade users, the heartless collapsed for good.

The ball of darkness was much bigger and closer now. It sucked up more and more pieces of the remains of their islands. The heartless drifted up into the orb. Ann cried out in surprise as she felt herself lifting off the ground.

Ryuji planted his hands on a tree. “Grab on!” She and Ren did so, Ann’s stomach turned as she felt herself lifting off the ground and towards the dark orb. 

“Don’t let go!” She yelled at Ryuji.

“I’m trying, dammit!” He winced as the bark he was holding started to peel away. “Effin’....dammit!” It broke away entirely, and the three yelled out as they were carried away. 

 

**Keyblades Gained: Arsene**

**Arcana Gained: Fool, Chariot, Lovers**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit on the short side, but I plan to make up for it with the next one. In the original KH game, Sora just sort of....gets his keyblade, no fanfare involved. Seeing as this is mixed with Persona, however, I decided there had to be some sort of inner awakening. 
> 
> You probably also noticed I'm no good at writing fighting scenes. I hope to improve on that.


	4. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren, Ann, and Ryuji wake up in Traverse Town and meet some new faces, gaining both answers and more questions.

He was back in the circle. 

He….Ren looked up to see the desk and its occupants were back. They were both smiling proudly at him.

“Congratulations, trickster,” Igor said. “It seems you have unlocked the potential within you. Now your journey can truly begin. Our benefactor and I have very high hopes for you.”

“I’m so glad you heard my voice,” Lavenza chimed in.

This wasn’t like last time though. This time, Ren was much more aware of himself, and what he wanted. And what he wanted more than anything else at this point was answers. After everything he had been through, he figured he deserved that much. “So then,” he started, “Who is this benefactor? And why me? I’ve been feeling so strange and wrong lately, ever since I first came here. And this keyblade….my home was just destroyed. I want answers.”

“Fair enough,” Igor said. “I will answer what I can.” The keyblade is a weapon of the heart, only those with a strong heart and deep resolve are able to use one. It also changes shape to match its user, as I’m sure you know.” Ren thought of Ryuji’s skeleton blade and Ann’s heart blade. “Some rare users are called Wild Cards. They have the ability to use multiple blades, with different strengths and weaknesses. You are one of those people. That was why you were chosen.”

Ren’s mind reeled from the thought. The idea that he was someone special was….pretty foreign, to be honest. The quiet kid with no sense of humor never got picked to go on some great journey. This was beyond weird, and honestly, he wasn’t sure he was up for it. 

“Oh, and do not worry. You will not be alone in this journey,” Igor continued. “While the nature of the worlds and this place prevent you from coming to this place often, I am sending help to where you are now. I believe you will find him quite useful. And will will give you a gift from myself as well.” 

He waved his hand, and as he did so Ren felt pressure build briefly behind his eyes, before fading away. He blinked. “What was that?”

Igor smiled. “I call it the third eye. It will allow you to see what cannot normally be seen. Do try it out when you get the chance. Now it seems our time is running short.” 

Ren felt a pull, dragging him away from the two strange people. Lavenza smiled at him as she faded away. “I hope to see you soon, trickster!”

“Wait, what about-” But they were gone, and he was waking up. 

*

Four figures walked through Traverse Town. Although their pace could be seen as leisurely, on closer inspection there was urgency in their steps. 

One was a walking, talking, duck, decked in blue and looking extremely annoyed. A staff swung by his side, and his eyes darted around, as though looking for the chance to use it. The second was a dog dressed in green, who seemed far calmer than his partner. He carried a shield on one of his arms, but it hung limply by his side, like he wasn’t expecting a fight. The third was a cricket, perched on the dog’s shoulder, a small notebook in his hand. The fourth figure was just a regular dog, sniffing around at his own pace. 

“Now, where would a wildcard go?” The duck, whose name was Donald, said. “Goofy! You seen anything yet?”

“Uh, nope,” Goofy shrugged his shoulders, jostling Jiminy Cricket. “The king said we should talk to that Leon guy though! Come on, let’s do that!” He followed the much more dog-like dog, who was starting to sniff around the corner. He looked around to see Donald waddling in the other direction. “Hey, Where are you going?”

“Come on! This way!” Donald motioned in the direction he was walking.

“But maybe we should-”

“What do you know ya big palooka? Come on!” Goofy hesitated, before reluctantly jogging to catch up with his companion.

“Come on, Pluto! We’re goin’ this way now.” The dog hesitated, sniffing around the corner, but quickly followed.

*

“Hey, wake up! You need to wake up!”

Ren groaned and slowly opened his eyes. On top of him was a black and white cat with intelligent blue eyes, staring down at him impatiently. He pushed himself up against the wall and the cat jumped off. “Good, you’re awake. I was getting worried there.” The cat inclined its head. “My name’s Morgana. I was sent by my master to assist you.”

“Master?” Ren frowned. “Do….you mean Igor?” The cat - Morgana - nodded.

“Yeah, that’s him! My job is to give you info about different worlds, and guide you through using your keyblades. Oh yeah, and I can do this.” He hunched into a crouching position. “Open your left hand.”

Extremely confused, and in no mood to argue with a talking cat, Ren did so. Morgana leaped at him, and he braced himself for impact. Instead, Morgana changed shape in mid air, and what landed in his hand was another keyblade. It was different from the one he had summoned earlier. It had a silver handle with a “Z” on it. The rest was shaped like a blade, black and silver with a hint of blue and yellow. Instead of teeth like the others had, on one side it curved inward in places, forming an intricate design. 

“Wow,” Ren breathed, because that was honestly really cool.

“I know, right?” Morgana spoke. Even though he didn’t have a mouth in this form, the words seemed to reverberate from him. “And you can still summon your other keyblade in your right hand.” Sure enough, he concentrated, and there it was.

A groan near him made him look up. Next to him, Ryuji and Ann were pushing themselves to their feet. Ryuji glanced over at Ren and his eyes widened.

“Dude! You have a second one!?” Ren nodded. He opened his hands, and Arsene disappeared while Morgana turned back into cat form. 

“Hello! My name is Morgana. My master sent me to watch over you guys.” The two blonds startled and jumped back.

“It’s a cat! It can talk!” Ryuji yelped. Morgana glared at him.

“I can talk! I’m right here! And I’m a he, not an it!”

“Sorry Morgana,” Ann said softly. “It’s just, this is really confusing. Yesterday we were at home making a raft and then something destroyed our entire world and now we’re….” She looked around, “In some dingy alleyway behind some barrels and boxes in a place we’ve never been before, so it’s all pretty new and confusing.”

Ren almost thought Morgana would snap at her too, but the cat simply paused for a moment, then said: “It’s alright ma’am, I can definitely understand why this would be confusing. I can tell you whatever you need to know.” Ren thought about asking who his “benefactor” was, but considering Igor and Lavenza’s avoidance of the subject, he doubted he’d get anything. So instead he asked where they were.

“Oh, we’re in traverse town,” Morgana said. “It’s sort of an inbetween world, where people whose worlds have been destroyed end up.” The three keyblade wielders exchanged excited glances; maybe someone they knew was here!

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Ryuji grinned. Let’s go!” Ren noticed that the cat had managed to keep attention away from who his “master” was, but said nothing. Morgana jumped upwards, using some type of wind magic to push himself onto Ren’s shoulder, and they walked out of the alley, and into some sort of square, where a few people were milling around.

“I still can’t believe it,” Ann breathed. “We’re really in another world!”

“We should go talk to some of these people,” Ryuji suggested. “Maybe they have some info we could use to find everyone else.” They all quickly agreed, and walked into the square together.

The first person they talked to wasn’t even a person at all, but a strange small creature with a red balloon on its head. “The First District is the only safe place, kupo,” it told them. They exchanged glances.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Ann said.

Ren nodded. “We must be in the First District now.” 

“We are.” Morgana flicked his tail. “There are three districts, but the other two have heartless running all around them. You guys do know what heartless are, right?”

Ryuji shrugged. “Uh, sort of? We all kinda knew the term once we got our keyblades, and that it means those creepy dark monsters that showed up out of nowhere, but that’s about it. So what do you know about them?”

“I’ll explain later.” For a normal sized cat, Ren noted, he wasn’t too heavy on his shoulder. That was nice and all, but if Morgana was going to stay there, Ren would need to find a bag of some sort. 

Ryuji didn’t like that answer. “Well, why can’t you just explain now? Isn’t that your job or something?” Morgana glared, and Ann butted in before a fight could break out.

“Come on guys, let’s just talk to more people,” she said placatingly. Unfortunately, no one else in the square seemed to have anything interesting or informative to say. Eventually, they decided to try the accessory shop right off the square.

The bell rung as they walked in. There was a blond man at the counter, and another, far more familiar man, sitting on a couch in the corner. “Hey there, how can I….aw, it’s just a couple of kids,” The man grumbled. Ren wasn’t paying attention to him, however. 

“Boss?!” He exclaimed. Ann and Ryuji whipped around to face Sojiro, who stared at them like he’d seen a ghost.

The shop owner raised an eyebrow. “Friends of yours?” Sojiro shook his head slowly. His receding hair was unkempt, and his clothes rumpled, crinkles covering his face from the stress. 

“No - no they’re kids from my world, I saw one of them two days ago - was it two days ago? - but you’re okay! Is Futaba here? Is she with you?” Ren stepped back from the rapid fire questions being asked. He’d never seen Sojiro in such a state, it was somewhat unnerving. But of course, Sojiro was worried about his daughter. That made sense. He wondered if she was that red haired girl from back at the beach.

“No,” He answered. “We haven’t seen anyone else yet but you. We just woke up here. Sorry.” The older man deflated, sagging back down into the couch. He buried his head in his hands. 

Ann hesitantly spoke up. “I….don’t suppose you’ve seen anyone else either?” Sojiro shook his head.

“No, I haven’t.” He looked up at them. “I was closing up shop when everything happened. First the storms, then that weird orb in the sky….everything started tearing apart, piece by piece. And those strange creatures - they came for us. I watched them tear people apart, all I could do was run. I made it home to find Futaba was missing! She - She can’t be gone! I have to find her!” 

Ren ached for the man. Even if they never really got along, he couldn’t imagine what Sojiro must be going through. Even if Ren was trapped here as well, at least he had Ann and Ryuji by his side. Losing them might’ve destroyed him.

“I wouldn’t really know, ‘cause I’ve never met her, but does futaba have long red hair, glasses, and a green jacket?” Ryuji asked. Right, he must’ve thought the same thing, that the girl they didn’t know on the island was Futaba. Sojiro perked up. 

“So you have seen her then!” Ryuji shook his head.

“Sorry, not since our world dissolved. We were on the clubhouse island with a bunch of other kids when it happened. She was there too, I remember. We all got separated though.”

“But if we ended up here, maybe Futaba and the others did too!” Ann chimed in. “We’ll go look around! I’m sure we’ll find her!”

“You might want to rethink that,” The shop owner spoke up suddenly. “The Second and Third Districts are crawling with heartless. You guys are newbies here, and if you’re not careful, you’ll be torn apart.”

“They’re not exactly newbies, though,” Morgana piped up. “Well, they are, but not in the way you think.” He nodded at Ren, who got the hint and summoned Arsene. Ann and Ryuji followed suit. 

Sojiro shot backwards. “Talking cat! And the troublemakers have weapons!”

The shop owner was less fazed. “Eh, you’ll see weirder. This is Traverse Town, after all.”

“No kidding.” Ryuji sent away his keyblade. “By the way, gramps, what’s your name? I don’t want to keep calling you gramps in my head.” Ann elbowed him in the side. “What? It’s true!” The shop owner scowled.

“The name’s Cid. And I’m not that old!”

“Sorry about him.” Ann twirled her hair around her finger. “Anyways, we should be off looking for our friends now. Don’t worry Boss, we’ll find Futaba! Even if we have to search all the worlds to do it!”

“Lady Ann is right!” Ren raised an eyebrow at Morgana, because “Lady Ann”? Really? “We’ll do whatever we can to ensure your daughter’s safety. That’s what being a keyblade wielder is all about!” 

Sojiro looked taken aback at their kind and optimistic words, and let out a rare smile. “Thank you, then. ….Be safe, kids. Promise.”

“Right,” Ren said.

Cid rubbed his nose and grinned at them. “And if you ever need any help, come to me. I’ll look out for you.”

*

Going into the Second District was like having a rude awakening.

The first thing Ryuji noticed was the man running towards them in terror, tripping and falling to the ground. The man laid there convulsing, before some heart shaped something came out of his body, which dissolved into black mist. The heart turned dark and mutated into another heartless, one that stood upright and had a helmet on.

Ryuji stared blankly where the man had just been. Had….had he just watched someone die? Right in front of him? He - he should have done something! But what could he have done!? 

“Oh gods,” Ann whispered. Ryuji was very inclined to agree with her. The next thing they knew, they were surrounded by heartless.

Morgana leaped off of Ren’s shoulder and into his hand, transforming into his keyblade form as he did so. While Ryuji was off the opinion that Morgana was kinda annoying, that was, admittedly, pretty cool. Ren dropped into a stance and held his keyblades at the ready. Ryuji summoned Captain Kid and did the same. He swung, feeling the satisfaction of contact on the weird creatures that destroyed his home. (And his mom, but he wasn’t thinking about that. He wasn’t.)

There was no time to contemplate though. As soon as they had taken out all the heartless, more showed up to take their place. “Just run!” Morgana called out, an order they immediately complied with. 

“Well,” Ren huffed as they went. “At least we got munny from it.” Ryuji and Ann stared at him in shock.

“You got munny? Ann repeated.

“....Yes. A good amount.” 

“Seeing as heartless are made from the disembodied hearts of people whose worlds are falling or have fallen to darkness, maybe that was the money they had on them before, you know,” Morgana suggested. 

That….was a horrifying thought. “Is it okay to take it then?” Ann asked.

Ren hesitated. “Well. They’re not using it anymore, so….”

“DUDE!”

Ren winced. “Sorry, didn’t mean it that way. That came out wrong.” They reached some sort of workshop and ran inside, slamming the door behind them. Ryuji let out a breath of relief. 

It was short-lived, though. More heartless rose out of the ground. Ryuji glared at them “What the hell? They just keep coming!”

The other side was no better. “Even more! Do these things know when to quit?” Ann fired a massive Agi at them. “I’m so sick of this!” They found their way over to a hotel on the other side of the massive street. Lucky, there seemed to be no heartless inside. 

Ren jingled the doors as he went. They were all locked. “Of course,” Ryuji muttered under his breath. They reached the end of the hall.

Ann grabbed the last door. “It’s unlocked!” Feeling a surge of hope, Ryuji jumped forward and swung it wide open to reveal….that it lead back outside. Heartless swarmed them once again.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

000000

Ann slammed the door shut behind her and sunk to the floor, chest burning. The heartless here made those on the islands look nice! Not that they were too hard to beat individually or anything, but there were so many of them!

“I - uh - I need a break,” She heaved. “Im….not used to this.” Ryuji leaned against the wall and let out a deep, shaky breath.

“Me too man. I haven’t run this much in ages!” 

“Puppies make up for it.” Ann looked over to see Ren kneeling down and petting a dalmation dog, who looked very happy to see him. Morgana yowled and leaped away.

“No! No that doesn’t make up for it! What are you doing Ren?” He hissed and leaned away as the other dog in the room approached him. Ann chuckled as she walked over to join in the petting. As she leaned down, she noticed a note in the dog’s collar.

“Hey, check this out!” She unfolded it. “99 puppies were lost amid the chaos of their world’s destruction. Find them in various worlds.” She lowered the paper. “That’s horrible! Those poor puppies!”

“No kidding.” Ryuji leaned over to read it. “Ninety-nine is a lot of dogs! We gotta help them!” 

Morgana frowned. “That’s strange. Usually when a world is lost, its survivors end up here. But those dogs were scattered all about the worlds. I didn’t know that could happen.”

Ren met her and Ryuji’s eyes. “Our friends could be scattered across worlds as well.”

Ann paled. That must’ve happened! That was why they couldn’t find anyone else. She shuddered to think what kind of possibly horrible worlds her friends could have been sent to. She almost didn’t want to imagine.

Ryuji clenched his fists. “Well then, we gotta go find them! We’ll figure out a way to go to other worlds, and we’ll look for them!” 

“Right.” They would find everyone. Ann was sure of it! 

“Let’s get back to the first district,” Ren told them. “There’s nothing left for us to find here.”

000000

Ren walked out of Cid’s shop, taking in a breath of fresh air. He needed a moment to think for himself. Inside, Ann and Ryuji were busy telling Sojiro what they had discovered, and the possibility that Futaba was in another world. He would have joined in, but Sojiro probably still didn’t like him, and after all that had happened, he needed a moment to himself.

“Being out alone is dangerous, you know. You should have brought one of the others with you.” Or mostly to himself, anyways.

“I have you, Morgana,” he said dryly. “Isn’t that enough for at least a few minutes?” Morgana flicked his tail, and huffed, out of disapproval or pride from a stroked ego, Ren didn’t know. 

“I’m supposed to help keep you safe, you know,” the cat chastised. “I can’t do that if you just go around where you can easily be killed. Do you have a death wish or something?” Well, if that wasn’t insulting. Ren was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, thank you very much. 

“They’ll come at you out of nowhere.” Ren startled and spun around, keyblade at the ready. From his shoulder, Morgana hissed at the one who had snuck up on them. 

“And they’ll keep on coming at you.” The speaker was a man with long spiky brown hair past his shoulders and steel grey eyes, a small scar running in between them. He was wearing a short leather jacket, white shirt, and a silver necklace with a cross and a bird on it. Belts criss crossed over dark pants. “As long as you continue to wield a keyblade.” The man frowned. “But why? Why would they chose some kid like you? There must have been some better option.”

“What are you talking about?” Ren asked him.

“Never mind.” He stepped forward and held out his hand. “Now, let’s see that keyblade.” Ren stepped back into a fighting stance. There was no way he was just handing Arsene over to some stranger.

Morgana glared at the man. “As if! Ren was chosen, this is his keyblade! Go away!”

“Alright then.” The man pulled out his own weapon. It seemed to be a cross between a gun and a sword. “Have it your way.”

He charged. Ren leapt to meet him. 

Then he shot backwards as the man swiped with his blade, nearly cutting him in half. _Get some distance._ He ran, the other ambling after him at his own pace. Ren found out why when a massive firebolt was sent his way. He rolled to the side, but cried out in pain as the fire singed his arm.

“Hang on!” Morgana concentrated, and green energy surrounded the burn spot, cooling it down until the wound was gone completely. Not that there was any time for relief, as the man had caught up to him. Morgana quickly transformed, and Ren brought his keyblades up to meet the other’s sword. 

The stranger paused and took a step back. “Two? That’s unusual. What does this mean?” But Ren wasn’t going to just sit there and give him the chance to strike again. He could feel Morgana’s power blowing through him, and called upon a new spell. Garu!. Wind whipped up around him, and the man was pushed back. He rushed forward and started swinging.

The man quickly regained his balance, parrying Ren’s thrusts. He swung at Ren’s side, and the dark haired boy brought Morgana up just in time to meet him. Quickly, quicker than probably should have been possible, the other man brought his blade away and turned it around, thrusting forward. Ren barely had time to try and dodge before the butt of the sword slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying backwards. He hit hard against the stone ground as pain shot through his body. He struggled to get to his feet as the man approached once again.

“Hey, you found it. Nice going, Leon.” Ren froze. He and the man, whose name he assumed was Leon, both turned to see a girl with short dark hair and a yellow scarf walking towards them with a smile. 

“Still,” Leon said, as they both stared down at Ren, who looked back uncomfortably. Morgana untransformed and jumped in front of him, hackles raised. “Looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse.”

It was at that moment when Ryuji and Ann burst through the door to Cid’s shop, keyblades at the ready. “Hey asshole!” Ryuji shouted. “Back off our friend!”

Ann gripped her keyblade tightly. “We’ll fight you if we have to!”

“Oh wow,” the girl said. “There are more of them. Is this really like last time?”

“Looks like it.” The man turned to Ren, then to the others. “My name is Leon. This is Yuffie. Come with us if you want to live, or at least get some answers.” 

000000

Leon studied the three new keyblade wielders with no small amount of skepticism. To be honest, they didn’t really seem like the worlds saving type.

There was the girl, Ann. Wavy blonde hair pulled into a low side ponytail, and sharp blue eyes. She had a red leather jacket over a red sweatshirt, with a plain white shirt underneath and dark leggings. Her keyblade was away, but she was looking at him wearily.

And the blond boy, Ryuji. Yellow t-shirt with bright patterns on it, red bandana, blue jeans. He had his keyblade out, and was glaring at Leon and Yuffie with open suspicion.

Then there was the boy Leon had fought. Unlike the others, he could possibly see Ren as a defender of worlds. Messy dark hair, unbuttoned and collared sleeveless jacket, red plaid shirt, dark jeans. The cat-to-keyblade thing sat in his lap. To Leon’s surprise, Ren wasn’t as on guard as the others, still weary, but mainly curious. Good. Leon was sure that he was the new wildcard, and he needed the kid to listen.

“Those creatures that attacked you are after your keyblades,” Yuffie told them. “Well, really it’s your hearts they want, because you can wield those keyblades. That’s why so many were swarming you, they were tracking you through your weapons.”

“Not that that taking them away will conceal your heart for long,” Leon added. 

“But why?” Ann asked. He noticed the girl’s hands were trembling. “What makes us so special? It’s not like someone gave our keyblades to us, we summoned them in a time of need. So what’s special about them?” Leon decided not to point out that randomly summoning a keyblade didn’t just happen. There was a lot to get through, and these kids probably shouldn’t get more put on their shoulders than necessary.

He sighed. “Because it seems you three are the chosen ones. But why….well. I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Wait, are you for real? We’re some sort of chosen ones? What does that even mean? Not that it doesn’t sound pretty cool or anything.”

“Shut up, Ryuji,” The cat hissed. “He’s gonna tell you more, so just be quiet for once, okay? Can you do that?”

“Why you-”

“Stop it,” Ren snapped at both of them. “We all want info, don’t we? Arguing will get us nowhere.” They both looked at him with surprise, then looked away, ashamed. Interesting.

Leon continued. “As I’m sure you’re aware by now, there are many other worlds out there, besides this town and the one you came from. Usually they aren’t connected, but when they are, it means terrible, universe-ending things are usually afoot. Last time it was the crawling chaos.” He paused and took a deep breath. Leon was young when it happened, but he remembered it well. It had been the most terrifying time in his entire life. Even this didn’t hold a candle to what he had once gone through.

He continued. “Back then, a great evil had tried to destroy all the worlds. Twenty keyblade wielders rose up to stop it, and ultimately banished it for good.”

Yuffie nodded along. She wasn’t quite old enough to totally remember that time, but as a similarly affected world, she knew of the backlash it had on the worlds in general. “This time, it’s the heartless. They seek out the darkness in people’s hearts.”

“And everyone has darkness in their heart,” Leon finished. “Eventually, they consume and destroy the worlds they invade. We call it the Fall.”

“But you guys have the keys!” Yuffie piped up. “The heartless are afraid of keyblades.”

“So it seems you three have been chosen to combat this next threat, along with whoever else out there also has been given a keyblade.” 

“We didn’t ask for this,” Ann said softly. She stared down at the bedsheets and clenched them in her fists. Yuffie put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Keyblades choose their masters,” Yuffie assured her. “And yours chose you.”

Leon waved the whole thing off. “So, tough luck.”

Ryuji snorted. “Wow. You’re a real nice guy, aren’t ya? Acting so mighty and cool. Maybe lay off, we’ve just been through a lot of shit.”

“Oh yeah? Well guess what?” He pointed at himself. “So have I. So has Yuffie, so has everyone else here. You’re not special.”

“And yet I don’t see Yuffie brushing away other people’s feelings,” Ren said quietly. Leon froze, and looked at the kid. He had intense eyes, and a completely serious expression. “We’ll do what we have to because we want to find our friends. But give us a moment to rest; we’ve been going non-stop since our world was destroyed in front of us. You’ve had some time to cope after your world was gone, let us have some time as well.”

Leon hesitated. Sure, he was frustrated that the fate of the worlds lay in some inexperienced kid’s hands. But they had just gone through a lot. “....Fine. Just an hour though. The Fall waits for no one.”

000000

“Hey, I’ve heard the keyblade can open all sorts of locks. You should try it!” Yuffie swung her legs from her position on the bed. Ren nodded in thanks for the information. 

The room in and of itself wasn’t so bad, if a bit plain. It had yellow wallpaper, a wooden table and chairs, and a tall dresser. It was strange, to think that there could be heartless waiting just outside to try and take their hearts. He tried not to dwell on it too much.

On the table was a locked chest (Ryuji had tried to open it upon coming here, discovering its “locked” status). Ren could try out Yuffie’s info on it. He walked up to the chest and tapped it twice with his keyblade. Sure enough, it opened easily. He reached in to check its contents and pulled out some sort of elixir. 

“Dude, that’s so cool!” Ryuji eyed the potion with interest. “I’ve gotta try that.”

“Technically that’s considered stealing,” Leon pointed out dryly. 

“You did beat up Ren and force us to come here and listen to you mock us,” Ann shot back. “I’d call it compensation.” Morgana snickered. Ren smiled at her, which was returned. (Okay, so maybe he just had a weird urge to pocket all items he found, including ones from the heartless. He was fine though, he totally wasn’t losing himself again or becoming a kleptomaniac. Absolutely not.)

“Yes well, time’s up.” Leon stood up straight and walked away from the wall he was slouching on. “Sooner or later, the heartless will find you three, so you’d best prepare yourselves.”

“There are four of us you know,” Morgana snapped. Leon ignored him.

“Yuffie, let’s go join Aerith. She should be there by now with the other visitors.”

“Other visitors?” Ann asked, eyes wide. “Are they from our world? Do we know them?”

“No, they’re-” As he spoke, an orb of dark mist sprung up inside the room, and a soldier-like heartless like the one who had come from the dying man appeared in the room. 

Leon drew his gunsword. “Yuffie, go!” She sprinted out of the room, flinging the door wide open behind her. “You three, let’s go!” He kicked the heartless in the chest, sending it flying out the window, then jumped out of it himself.

They looked at each other. “Okay, even if I don’t like him, I’ll admit he has some style.” Morgana conceded. They raced after him.

When they met at the bottom, Leon shouted: “Don’t bother with these small fry! Find the leader!” He ran ahead of them.

Ryuji winced. “These guys are small fry?”

“Looks like it,” Morgana sighed. “But they aren’t really too tough, they’re only a real problem in large numbers. The leader shouldn’t be too bad then, right?”

000000

“WRONG! THAT WAS VERY, VERY WRONG!” Ryuji dodged another attempt by the heartless leader to pound him into oblivion. Ren observed their advisory. The thing was huge, with five unattached sections to it: Arms, legs, and torso. It moved them all around in different directions, making hitting the thing much harder. To make matters worse, they were being swamped by normal heartless on the side.

“Try and get hits on the leader!” Ren called to his friends. “I’ll take the small ones out and join you!” He listened to the calls of affirmation, and swung Morgana and Arsene around in his hands. 

“Ren, above you!” The keyblade-cat called out. He looked up just in time to see two figures falling from the sky. Panicked, he tried to move, but the others slammed into him before he could get that far.

Groaning on the ground, the three pulled themselves up. One was a walking duck in blue robes, the other a walking dog in green clothes. They were both staring at his keys. Well. Ren had seen weirder at this point. More importantly, the heartless mooks were coming straight at them. 

Ren sidestepped a coming heartless soldier and cut it clean in half with Arsene, then blew another back with a Garu. A different soldier tried to jump him, but before it could land, the dog blocked it with his shield, sending it flying backwards. The duck sent a fireball from his wand, and it vanished.

After that, things were quick work. With the added help of the two newcomers, as well as Morgana’s healing prowess, the soldiers were made short work of, and the four rejoined the fight against the leader. Ryuji and Ann seemed to be holding their own, but it was obvious they needed help.

“Who’re they?” Ryuji called out to him.

“Dunno, they fell on top of me,” Ren replied. “Everyone, pick a different limb to work on!” The five sprung into action. The strange not-so-animals slammed into the legs over and over again, while Ryuji and Ann sliced through the arms. Ren took the torso, Alternating between strikes with Arsene and Morgana and shooting it with Ehiyas and Garus. One by one, the limbs fell, until Ren struck the final blow on the torso. Mini explosions covered the much smaller, but still hovering, body. 

Then it started rattling rapidly, and its head fell off. From inside, a glowing heart emerged, floated upwards and disappeared. The rest of the body vanished in a swirl of light. 

Where it once stood, a knight on a red horse remained. The five lifted their weapons, ready to fight again, but the knight didn’t draw any sort of weapon or make any move to harm them. Instead, he looked intently at Ren. And Ren….and he….

“Well, young one? Do you have the strength to wield my power?” It asked him in a deep voice. Of course he could. This was what he was supposed to do, after all.

“Yes. I can,” He said. The knight nodded.

“Then I am Berith. And now I shall be your blade.” He recalled Arsene as Berith turned into a ball of light and sped towards his hand. Then the light extended, becoming a new keyblade. This one had a wide red shaft and a rusty silver handle, the “hooves” of the horse becoming the teeth. He gave a few experimental swings and stowed it away, Turning back, he saw Ann and the two strangers staring at him in what looked like awe. 

“Renren,” Ryuji said softly. He looked to find his friend’s face full of concern. “Renren, it’s happening again.”

It….he….oh gods, not again. Ren’s eyes widened and he stepped back in shock. He noticed Leon and Yuffie had reached them as well, looking at him with approval.

He found he didn’t like it at all. 

000000

“So, you were looking for me?” Ren asked. He looked taken aback, and Ann didn’t blame him. Actually, she kicked herself for not noticing he was blanking out again. She’d never normally say this, but thank the gods for Ryuji. It was just, Ren was usually so quiet and expressionless, it was hard to tell when something was wrong! Ann resolved to get better at reading her friend.

“Well, all three of you, really,” Goofy amended. 

“But mostly you,” Donald said. He seemed like the more short tempered and blunt of the two.

“They too have been seeking the wielder of the keyblade,” Leon clarified. Ann felt a flash of annoyance, because seriously? Leon had run ahead to find the heartless leader, but hadn’t shown up until the battle was over. What a jerk.

Hey, why don’t you come with us?” Goofy gestured to all three of them. “We can go to other worlds on our vessel.”

Ann’s heart raced. Did she hear that right? She was sure she did! Then that meant….

She stepped forward. “If we come with you, will you help us find our friends? They’re scattered across different worlds. We’ve been looking all over here, but can’t find any of them.”

Donald nodded quickly. “Of course!” Goofy turned to him, and they started talking more quietly. 

“Alright!” Ryuji punched the air. Ann glanced at him, then leaned over to Ren.

“Why do I get the feeling they’re trying to dupe us somehow?” She muttered. “People giving assurances and then talking quietly to themselves generally preludes some kind of dupe.” 

The corners of Ren’s mouth turned downward. “That….makes sense, I guess. Then we’ll keep an eye out.” 

Leon stepped forward. “You guys should go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends." Ryuji shot him a burning glare. 

“You can’t be telling us to do anything, seeing as you’ve pretty much done nothing.” He turned his gaze on Donald and Goofy. “And you two don’t try anything with us! Or we’ll steal your vessel and find our friends on our own!”

“Well we can’t do that now, since Ryuji put them on high alert,” Morgana muttered from Ren’s shoulder. Ann sighed and shrugged, because that was Ryuji for you.

Donald glared. “Hey! Maybe we’ll just leave you on some random world if you’re going to act like that!” 

This was going to be a long trip. 

000000

“Well well well. This is certainly an interesting group.” A tall, green skinned woman muttered, watching the six interact through her own personal spell. “And they could prove quite useful. Yes, they’ll do nicely.”

Especially the wildcard. Oh, how she wanted to get her hands on him. Philemon’s interference into the child’s mind and behavior had seemed most troublesome at first, but it was turning into something she could certainly play in her favor. The butterfly had certainly grown overconfident with the permanent destruction of his arch-nemesis, throwing new wildcards at problems left and right. And now that the other three had failed in their own disastrous ways, he was exerting much more influence on the poor new boy. 

Perhaps Philemon’s intentions were completely noble. After all, she wanted the Fall gone as much as anyone else. There was nothing to conquer if there was nothing left, after all. But he was going about it the wrong way, destroying his newest weapon in the process. The child was already starting to break. And that was where she could come in.

Not that she needed him for her plans, of course. But wouldn’t it be so nice, to have two wildcards at her beck and call?

Yes, things were progressing splendidly. Now all Maleficent had to do was wait.

**Keyblade’s gained: Morgana/Zorro, Berith**

****

****

**_Arcana gained: Magician, Hierophant, Tower, Sun_**


End file.
